5.3 million euros for brilliant stories

In the final funding round of the year, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW awarded 5.3 million euros to 28 remarkable projects—ranging from major feature films and series to outstanding documentaries, screenplays, pre-production projects, and distribution initiatives.

The largest grant went to “Roland.” The biopic tells the story of Roland Kaiser’s journey from foundling to one of Germany’s most successful and dedicated musicians. The multi-award-winning Canadian director Clement Virgo is adapting the literary work “Half Blood Blues” into a film about an Afro-German jazz musician during the Third Reich and the themes of love, betrayal, and reconciliation. The series “Heidi” offers a historically accurate portrayal of contemporary issues such as our relationship with nature, the rise of tourism, and animal welfare. The high-end documentary series “Germany: Right” illustrates that the supposedly abrupt shift to the right is not abrupt at all.

Through its funding initiatives, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW once again reaffirms its mission: We always stand by our creative professionals, promote quality and excellent storytelling, and thereby strengthen NRW—the land of the curious.

Feature Film

ROLAND. – 1,100,000 euros
Production: Doll Filmproduktion, Berlin
Co-production: Vincent Productions, Berlin
Distributor: Tobis
Director, Screenplay: Sherry Hormann
Screenplay: Silvia Lindner

Roland Kaiser is one of the most successful musicians in the German-speaking world. But who really knows him?

HALF BLOOD BLUES - 800,000 euros Production : augenschein Filmproduktion, Cologne
Co-production: Conquering Lion Pictures, Canada
Director: Clement Virgo
Screenplay: Patrick Whistler, Clement Virgo, based on the novel of the same name by Esi Edugyan

After decades, jazz musicians Sidney and Chip return to Germany. Here, they must confront the repressed truth about their missing bandmate and their own past in Nazi Germany in 1938.

HERE TO STAY - 700,000 euros
Production: Dreifilm, Munich
Distributor: Leonine
Director: Marc Rothemund
Screenplay: Axel Melzener, Paul Matthias Feldmann, Maggie Peren
Cast: Max von der Groeben

To force the rebellious tenants out of a building slated for luxury renovation, the son of a real estate mogul moves into the shared apartment undercover without further ado.

PARAPHRASE ABOUT THE DISCOVERY OF A GLOVE - 350,000 euros
Production: Petrolio Film, Cologne
Distributor: Real Fiction Filmverleih
Broadcaster: ZDF / Das kleine Fernsehspiel
Director, Screenplay: Mareike Wegener
Cast: Clara Schwinning, Matthias Brandt, Constanze Becker, Judith Bohle, Josefine Israel

During the lockdown, Cloe actually wants to write her first novel. But heartbreak and loneliness are holding her back—until she finds a glove...

Documentary

UNCLE HANS (Low Budget) – 240,000 euros Production : MADE IN GERMANY, Cologne
Distribution: mindjazz pictures
Director, Screenplay: Lena Breuer, Marius Möller
Protagonist: Johannes Weinrich

Johannes Weinrich was one of the most wanted terrorists. After 30 years in prison, he is now being released. His niece recounts the 78-year-old’s journey to freedom and illustrates his life story using archival footage.

TRACKING THE SHADOWS OF SLAVERY (TV) - 90,000 euros
Production: Gruppe 5 Filmproduktion, Cologne
Broadcaster: ZDF/ARTE
Directed and Written by: Sarah Vianney, Martin Carazo Mendez

To this day, the transatlantic slave trade continues to shape the distribution of wealth and poverty. The film traces the flow of money from the past to the present.

Series

HEIDI (Series, 6x45 minutes) - 980,000 euros
Production: Gaumont, Cologne
Co-production: DCM, Switzerland
Broadcaster: RTL
Directors: Johannes Bachmann, Micha Lewinsky
Screenplay: Valentina Brüning, Seraina Nyikos, Beatrice Huber

Heidi is now 12 years old. Still a child in one way, but on the verge of becoming a teenager in another. And suddenly, new challenges and adventures await her and Peter.

GERMANY: RECHTS (documentary series, 5x43 minutes) - 300,000 euros
Production: Beetz Brothers film production, Berlin
Broadcasters: WDR, ARTE, ARD
Directors: Johan von Mirbach, Tom Ockers, Annette Baumeister
Screenplay: Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Tom Littlewood

The series chronicles the tumultuous history of reunified Germany and debunks the myth of the much-discussed sudden shift to the right.

ELF HELDEN, EIN ALBTRAUM (documentary series, 4x45 minutes) - 160,000 euros
Production: Broadview TV, Cologne
Broadcaster: ARD, NDR
Director, Screenplay: Manfred Oldenburg
Featuring: Berti Vogts, Rudi Völler, Jürgen Klinsmann, Stefan Effenberg, Mario Basler, Thomas Strunz, Andreas Köpke

The story of the German national soccer team, which traveled to the 1994 World Cup as the favorite—and failed miserably.

Screenplay Funding

CHAMPS (Series) – 20,000 euros Production: eitelsonnenschein, Cologne
Screenplay: Alan Lasgi

This urban drama series follows three young boxing talents from Cologne as they struggle for recognition, family support, and their own identities.

ON THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED, THE WOLF SWALLOWED THE SUN - 20,000 euros
Production: Sally Forth Cinema, Dortmund
Director, Screenplay: Wiebke Becker

This debut film is an adaptation of Sina Scherzants’s first novel. The bittersweet coming-of-age story is set in Dortmund in the early 2000s and celebrates the power of female role models.

BLACK MILK - 20,000 euros
Director: André Szardenings, Düsseldorf
Screenplay: André Szardenings, Leona Stahlmann

A mother meets the woman who kidnapped her daughter from the maternity ward 18 years ago and raised her. An ominous struggle over guilt, love, and possession begins.

ULLA UTERUS AND DIE KÖRPER GMBH (Series) - 20,000 euros
Production: Cinesnax, Cologne
Screenplay: Madita Rutten

What if every organ in the body had a person in charge of it? An unplanned pregnancy suddenly sends everyone in the body into a frenzy around the hot-tempered Ulla Uterus.

PRETTY PRIVILEGE - 20,000 euros
Screenplay: Christina Reuter, Münster

An amusing social satire about a future in which nothing matters more than looks and a high “fuckability” score.

Pre-production

TOMI & ERIKA (Animation) - 40,000 euros
Production: Trickstudio Lutterbeck, Cologne
Director, Screenplay: Péter Palátsik

In the winter of 1944, the Jewish siblings Tomi (11) and Erika (5) are separated from their mother. But together with their stuffed rabbit, who has come to life, they set out to find her.

TREASURE ISLAND (Animation) - 40,000 euros
Production: Little Dream Entertainment, Cologne
Director: Ali Samadi Ahadi
Screenplay: Sophia Bierend, Florens Huhn

The classic novel reimagined as an adventurous animated film with musical elements and a female twist. When a ship sets sail on a treasure hunt, the young cat Jane Hawkins is all fired up.

TASTE OF HEAVEN - 45,000 euros
Production: Outside the Club, Wuppertal
Director, Screenplay: Marc Schießer

In this elevated horror thriller, chef Joline seems to have found her dream job at the mysterious Michelin-starred restaurant Heaven. However, it turns into a nightmare due to mysterious occurrences and an obsessive pursuit of perfection.

CARLAS ENZO - 30,000 euros
Production: Color of May, Cologne
Director, Screenplay: Elmar Imanov, Adel Oberto

Enzo, an exhausted worker, and Carla, a lonely teenager, form a deep friendship and create a chosen family built on trust.

JELLYFISH - 20,000 euros
Production: Wunderland Filme, Münster
Director, Screenplay: Hella Wenders

In this coming-of-age film, 11-year-old Chiara meets the lively Jo, who is the same age, in Sicily. An atmospheric, feel-good summer film about friendship and family.

Project Development Funding

HABIBI FUNK - SOUNDS OF A FORGOTTEN WORLD (Documentary) - 25,000 euros Production : Spring Productions, Cologne
Director: Florian Opitz
Screenplay: Florian Opitz, Samar Nahas

Four visionary musicians from the Arabic-speaking world embodied the hope for cultural renewal and independence in the 1960s through the 1980s. They were rediscovered by chance.

Distribution

WOODWALKERS 2 - 80,000 euros
Distributor: Studiocanal, Berlin
Theatrical Release: January 29, 2026

THE MEDICUS 2 - 80,000 euros
Distributor: Constantin Film Distribution, Munich
Theatrical release: December 25, 2025

EXTRAWURST - 60,000 euros
Distributor: Studiocanal, Berlin
Theatrical release: January 15, 2026

AMERICAN SWEATSHOP - 45,000 euros
Distributor: PLAION PICTURES, Planegg
Theatrical release: April 2, 2026

THE HAPPINESS OF THE DILIGENT - 20,000 euros
Distributor: Cologne Cine Collective CCC, Cologne
Theatrical Release: March 19, 2026

GERMAINE ACOGNY – THE ESSENCE OF DANCE – 15,000 euros
Distributor: farbfilm verleih, Berlin
Theatrical release: February 26, 2026

GAVAGAI - 10,000 euros Distributor : Port au Prince, Berlin
Theatrical release: January 22, 2026

Film Funding

FILMHAUS, Cologne - 6,500 euros